Over the past few years residents of Tierra Verde and boaters on the Gulf of Mexico may have noticed the accretion of sand along the north shore of Shell Key Preserve. The profound collection of sand threatens to close the mouth of Grand Canal where it meets Pass-a-Grille Channel. An ongoing study of the sand’s migration and assessment of potential interventions has been ongoing by local and federal stakeholders.

The initial report released in the summer of 2018 very well illustrates the challenge. The report can be downloaded from the Pinellas County website by clicking here.

Subsequently a community meeting was held in November, 2019 to announce the final report and plan options moving forward. Those reports can be found by clicking here.

When you’re getting ready to list your home, it’s of the upmost importance to ensure you are showing it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a big difference in how fast it sells. In fact, it is not a bad idea to hire a professional home inspector to conduct a pre-listing home inspection. Here are our top five recommended repairs to make before selling your home.

Repaint walls.

Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce it up, and generally, it can be a do-it-yourself project. Make sure cover any walls with scratches and chips and consider updating any accent walls with a more neutral coat.

Repair floors.

Hardwood floors are a very desirable feature in a home, so you want to ensure they look their best by fixing scratches or dull areas. If your carpet is worn or stained, consider replacing them. And don’t forget the tile in your kitchen or bathrooms. Re-grouting can go a long way in making dingy tile work look brand new!

Refresh the landscaping.

Show buyers your home is the full package by dressing up the outside as well as the in. Clean walkways and driveways, plant seasonal flowers and plants, trim hedges and trees, install outdoor décor pieces and fill in mulch and gravel.

Fix your fixtures.

Leaky faucet? Rusted drains? Loose drawer handle? Making these small fixes can make a big difference to potential buyers with detailed-orientated minds. Improve your kitchen. An outdated kitchen can be a real eyesore in a home. Updating cabinetry, repairing or replacing countertops, and installing new faucets and sinks may be worth the investment.

April 2, 2019 — Most flood maps for Pinellas County, including St. Petersburg, Tierra Verde, and St. Pete Beach, were last updated in 2003. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been working to update the maps in our area, and the agency has released its preliminary findings to the public.

Click on the image above to launch the map tool and follow the instructions below.

As you may know, the base flood elevation (BFE) of a home is a key element used to determine flood risk and the associated costs of flood insurance. Thankfully, the preliminary maps indicate mostly favorable changes in our area by lowering the designated BFE or making no change to it. But some areas, such as parts of St. Petersburg and Safety Harbor, are not so fortunate.

I want to stress that the data released by FEMA is preliminary, and there is no indication of when (or if) the new maps will become effective. But to get an idea what the impact may be of the preliminary flood maps on your flood risk, please visit FEMA’s online mapping tool at fema.maps.arcgis.com. Follow these directions:

On Tierra Verde we have approximately 463 on-water one-level condominiums. Total square footage of heated and cooled living space in those homes ranges from 665 square feet to 3,986 square feet. The top quartile of waterfront condominiums represents the largest waterfront condos with 2,201 square feet and greater.

The following charts illustrate the sales history of Tierra Verde’s on-water one-level condos of that top quartile with living space equal to or larger than 2,201 square feet. Sunset Pointe is new construction and is excluded from the data because it is likely an appraiser would be discouraged from using newly constructed condos as comparable to resale of existing condos.

After all, your home’s value is determined largely by the price at which similar properties have sold recently. Of course all real estate is unique, so a closer analysis would be required to accurately estimate current value of your home. But the enclosed data indicates values are headed in the right direction.

In the run-up to the financial crisis last decade we saw some spectacular prices for large on-water condominiums. Conversely, after the peak of the financial crisis prices for on-water condominiums hit bottom. Volume of sales activity since then has been a roller coaster, but average prices have been on a steady climb.

Today, the data indicates we are in a more stable and balanced real estate market for homes comparable to yours. If throughout this year you consider buying or selling real estate I hope you will consider contacting me to discuss how we can work together to achieve your goals.